I agree with Hcpookie If a head space guage is avaliable buy it use it If money is really tight resell it for most of what you paid for it here or ebay. KB's are very bad

I am however interested in proper ways to do it with out a guage. there are hundreds of wildcat round built safely and there must be a correct way of doing it. I suspect that since most wildcats are hand loads the builders can insure that ther ammo is all the same and head spacing of a Dummy round with a noncompressable shim like from a piece of feeler guage would be OK. As my 458 SOCOM gets of the ground I have been wondering how I will head space it. I have not seen any guages for it and it will be a lot more bang than the 7.62x25 so it really has to be correct.

Think of all the money I have saved by not having to buy headspace guages for every caliber I have used this method with. That's enough money to BUY an AK.

I take it you mean a kit for an ak? I would call that false economy (being CHEAP) when your face is at stake. Sure you can use a string but I prefer to hold it in my hand. Makes for a more satisfied shooter. This notebook paper thing reminds me of that old saying about assuming things. I would use it as a rough guide to get the measurement 'in the neighborhood' and thats all. Besides, it may work on the string for a while but there is that ONE that is out there that has your name on it. Thats all it takes. One. It may have worked so far but just how much space is there...really? Do you use the same notebook page all the time? I would prefer a gage. Do you know of a supplier of 7.62 x 39 and x 25 gages? I would like them with the laser etched size and maker and maybe a colored stripe (red/blue) on the side for easy identification. I guess I am just cautious because I plan on being around for a while and would like to enjoy the sport as long as I can. No need to be going: when I was your age.... like so many old people do.

It's come to my attention, that the 7.63 Mauser round, is dimensionally the same as 7.62x25 TT, and that there are reamers and headspace guage available for it. I forget where exactly, but I think Clymer has them for rent, and guages for sale.

I got my 223 head space guages from lock stock and barrel they were around $15 each I cant remember if they had the ak round or not. If a guage is avaliable for your round buy it use it and then sell it to recover your costs. I am working on some wild cats(no guage avaliable) and will use a shim made from feeler guage on a dummy round I am going with .004 i can always take a thousandts of the bolt if it is to tight, I feel this is safe because I am loading the only ammo it will ever see and I have sole controll over the sizing of the cases so I know I will never have a out of speck round.
It sounds like you are measuring the total case length to get you average. the problem is that a bottel neck round like yours head spaces from the shoulder not the end of the neck. straight wall rounds head space from the end of the neck. If you want to get a average I would but the barrel in and leave about .010 extra to press in then using some feeler guage in front of the bolt see how much your ammo varies by brand take the average then press the barrel in to the final spot I would go on the tight side IMOA. I am not a pro dont take any of this as being correct I would seek out a good gunsmith and ask there advice as well

I've bought rifles off the shelf that didn't headspace properly, including a kimber of all things. That is something that I ALWAYS check. And actually, the 7.62 tokarev is really quite a high pressure round. Regarding the first post in the thread, Please use a dummy round and not a live one.....shit happens!
I have a set of gauges for the tokarev that I made, I'm just not sure where they are right now or if I even have them. We had a house fire December before last and are still adjusting. Email me your contact info, and if I can find them,(it may take some time) you can have them. Anything to make the sport safer. I will also look for my blueprints to make another set. I have NO desire to produce these in quantity though. They are WAY to precise for my comfortable skill level
C.J.brokenarrowfarms@yahoo.com